Women and Cats in Art: From Medieval Nuns to Modernist Muses
A survey of ten artworks spanning the 14th to 20th centuries explores the recurring motif of women with cats, challenging the 'crazy cat lady' stereotype. The earliest example is a 14th-century illuminated manuscript from the Maastricht Hours (British Library), showing a nun with a kitten. Keisai Eisen's ukiyo-e print (1843–1846, Library of Congress) depicts a bijin-ga woman snuggling a cat. Dirck Hals's 1631 Dutch Golden Age painting (Clark Art Institute) shows two girls with an unhappy kitten. Édouard Manet's 1863 Olympia (Musée d'Orsay) famously pairs a nude courtesan with a cat, subverting Titian's Venus of Urbino. Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Sleeping Girl (1880, Clark Art Institute) captures an exhausted duo. Henri Rousseau's c. 1895–1897 Portrait of a Woman (Musée d'Orsay) features a self-taught style with a tiny kitten. Fernand Léger's 1921 Woman with a Cat (Metropolitan Museum of Art) exemplifies 'tubism' with a faceless reader. Gwen John's c. 1920 Young Woman Holding a Black Cat (Tate) repeats a contemplative scene. Frida Kahlo's 1940 Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (Harry Ransom Center) includes a cat on her shoulder. Edward Gorey's 1982 illustration for T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats shows Rum Tum Tugger with a sewing woman. The article also mentions the author's own cats, Ida and Rhoda.
Key facts
- The Maastricht Hours (14th century, British Library) shows a nun with a cat.
- Keisai Eisen's Neko o idaku musume (1843–1846) is at the Library of Congress.
- Dirck Hals's Children with a Cat (1631) is at the Clark Art Institute.
- Manet's Olympia (1863) is at the Musée d'Orsay.
- Renoir's Sleeping Girl (1880) is at the Clark Art Institute.
- Rousseau's Portrait of a Woman (c. 1895–1897) is at the Musée d'Orsay.
- Léger's Woman with a Cat (1921) is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Gwen John's Young Woman Holding a Black Cat (c. 1920) is at Tate.
- Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) is at the Harry Ransom Center.
- Edward Gorey illustrated T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats in 1982.
Entities
Artists
- Keisai Eisen
- Ikeda Eisen
- Dirck Hals
- Rembrandt
- Judith Leyster
- Frans Hals
- Vermeer
- Édouard Manet
- Titian
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Henri Rousseau
- Fernand Léger
- Gwen John
- Frida Kahlo
- Edward Gorey
- T.S. Eliot
Institutions
- British Library
- Library of Congress
- Clark Art Institute
- Musée d'Orsay
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Tate
- Harry Ransom Center
- The Gorey House
Locations
- London
- UK
- Washington, DC
- USA
- Williamstown
- MA
- Paris
- France
- New York
- NY
- Austin
- TX